World T20: Time ticking away as Bangladesh Cricket Board refuses to budge after ICC meeting

The virtual meeting between International Cricket Council (ICC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday failed to yield any immediate results with the BCB reaffirming their decision of not travelling to India for the T20 World Cup next month.

The Liton Das-led team are scheduled to leave for India on 26 January, but the BCB have decided not to play in India for ‘security reasons’ after IPL franchise dropped star pacer Mustafizur Rehman on a directive from BCCI earlier this month.

 While it has now become a battle of nerves, the BCB – albeit with the backing of it’s caretaker government – has refused to blink so far. They have also been emboldened by a leaked internal ICC communique which raises the prospects of the travelling team being ‘at risk’ in case Mustafizur is a part of it. ICC, which had earlier turned down the initial request, seems to be keen to keep the communication channels open to fight a perception that the world governing body is always partisan towards India’s interests.

 In a statement, the BCB said: ‘’While the ICC highlighted that the tournament itinerary has already been announced and requested the BCB to reconsider its stance, the Board’s position remains unchanged. Both parties agreed that discussions will continue to explore possible solutions,’’ it said.

‘’ BCB remains committed to safeguarding the well-being of its players, officials and staff while engaging constructively with the ICC to address the matter,’’ it added. They have earlier made it clear that they will not be acceding to the ICC request of shifting the matches to Chennai and Thirvananthapuram from Kolkata and Mumbai, respectively.

 Speaking to local media after the meeting, BCB vice-president Shakhawat Hossain said that that they are hoping for a positive response from ICC. ‘’We are firm in the position we have taken (regarding venue relocation). We will not change our stance even by an inch. We are not going to India,’’ Shakhawat told reporters after the meeting.

 ‘’We have stated our position and they are looking for alternatives. The path for discussion is still open,’’ he said. Earlier, Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul insisted on couple of occasions that they will not be travelling to India under any circumstances.